Necessity is the mother of invention.
War is the father of necessity
War breeds technical progress.
BattleTechnology salutes the brave this issue. As the body count and the number of lost planets increase, we salute the men and women, in far too many cases the children, who have suffered and died to get this information to us.
This is all we know so far about the Invaders:
1) The Jade Falcons and the Wolf Clan are attacking along the Steiner Periphery Border. The Jade Falcons have taken Bone Norman, Anywhere, Here, Bensinger, Toland, Steelton, Persistence, Winfield, Trellwan, and Twycross.They are reported to be fighting everywhere from Maxie's Planet to Blackjack, with no confirmation available. The Wolf Clan has taken Icar and Chateau, but they're concentrating on The Free Republic of Rasalhague.
2) The Smoke Jaguars are attacking along the Draconis Periphery Border. They have taken Rockland, Idelwind, Richmond, Schwartz, Bjarred, Tamby, Turtle Bay, Jeanette, Kabah, Chupadero, Hanover and Albiero. We can only surmise where they will hit next.
3) The Wolf Clan andthe Ghost Bears are attacking along the Rasalhague Periphery Border. Mostly it is the Wolf Clan which is active here. They have taken New Caledonia, The Edge, Alleghe, St John, Outpost, Svelvik, Skallevol, and the capital world, Raslahague itself. They are reported to be fighting on Csesztrig, Loviac, Rodigo, Hermabor, Dawn and New Oslo right now. The Ghost Bears have taken Damien, Thule and Holmsbu. They are fighting on Engadin as of this writing.
4) It seems that all of the Periphery Kingdoms outward in that direction (Duchy of Oberon, Greater Valkyrate, Star's End, Elysian Fields, etc) have already been taken by one or another of these forces.
5) These forces or some combination of them seem able to intercept ComStar transmissions in a selective manner. Much of the routine transmission is getting through. Most of the off icial transmissions are not. In many cases, we know of the fall of planets only by family calls, not from military reports. How or why this is possible, we cannot conjecture as yet.
6) Their 'Mechs are better made and better weaponed than even our Star League era manufacture. They shoot at longer ranges, more accurately. They take more damage.
7) They have fewer 'Mech designs by far than we do, and to vary weaponry within these designs more than we do. They have under twenty basic 'Mech types, but every type has several variants. Unconfirmed reports suggest that they have some sort of modular framework which permits rapid change of armament in time frames of two to three hours.
8) They fight in unconventional groupings. They have sent in mixed units, a light, a heavy, a couple of assault 'Mechs, and a medium. Or maybe an infantry unit instead of a 'Mech. Even sometimes an aerospace fighter! Their tactics have yet to be analyzed. The only common factor is that each 'lance' is a multiple of five.
9) Our intelligence from Winfield and Romulus makes it certain that the so-called 'Toads' or ' micro-Mechs' are actually a type of augmented infantry. NAIS sources have dubbed them the "Elementals", as they have the drive and unstopability of an Elemental force. Recovered body parts show them to be human in form and genetic material.
10) They don't like mercenaries. They confiscate the 'Mech of any captured mercenary, though they have kept regular units in formation after accepting their surrender.
11) They offer the numbers and names of their attacking units in a formal ritual which we do not understand yet. They expect us to do the same. They take pride in having studied us well enough to know which units are in which condition as to training and personnel.
12) They react angrily and aggressively to suggestions that their conduct is dishonorable.
13) Their treatment of civilians on captured worlds varies wildly. Sometimes they are hard but fair. Sometimes they are arrogant and, it seems, both bullying and sadistic. Reprisals on civilian personnel for guerilla action seem to be a constant, though the amount of response varies.
14) So far, the Smoke Jaguars are the most savage, having used nuclear weapons on the capital city of Edo (Turtle Bay). It may even mean something that this is a clear violation of the 'Prisoners of War' and 'Captured Planets' section of the Ares Conventions. In several cases now some reference to the Ares Conventions has been made in dealing with these groups. They seem to ignore them.
No matter what we wish the Ares Conventions meant in terms of moral responsibity, there is a bottom line to them. The Ares Conventions assume that we all value certain kinds of technology, learning, and raw materials. Hence we don't fight near JumpShip factories, kill Techs, or destroy mineral deposits. They further assume that we do not treat civilian life, or the resources of universities or libraries, casually. Hence, we ban biological warfare and 'dirty' atomics. We cannot be sure that any of these guidelines will be honored by the Clans.
15) Whether these four groups are rivals, specialists, or military groupings similar to our 'Theater' or 'Operations' is unknown. Each seems uniform within itself in terms of tactics, prisoner treatment, etc, though these policies vary from group to group.
16) We don't know why they are attacking us. It seems to be a war for territory rather than reprisal or genocide.
The motto above indicates Inner Sphere strategy for the next few months. War is the father of necessity - we need to acquire and study samples of their weaponry and vehicles. We need to study their tactics. We need to lose as little territory as possible while doing it, or to keep low-profile 'sleeper' units in lost territory.
We are paying for the time we need, paying in the dearest coin there is. The lives of our warriors are buying the time we need to learn what we need to know to defeat this blood-drenched attacker.
Necessity is the mother of invention - when we know how they fight and what they have to fight with, we will invent what tactics we need to slow them down and contain them.
War breeds technical progress - then we take what they have and we make it better and we use the best of our stuff and the best of their stuff and we take them. Kerensky's descendents, Minnesota Tribe, or Giant Mutated Rats, we will take them.
The Grim Score Card
Months 1 - 5
| House | Won | Lost | Still Fighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federated Commonwealth | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Rasalhague | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| Draconis Combine | 0 | 12-14 | 0 |
| Invader Force | Won | Lost | Still Fighting |
| Jade Falcons | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Wolves | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Ghost Bears | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Smoke Jaguars | 12-14? | 0 | 0 |
One out of the new six reported is reliably confirmed. Four reports unconfirmed (reported from personal or family sources)
BattleTechnology News From the Front
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